Headphone pivot joint
An earcup to headband joint for headphones, wherein the headphones comprise an electrical cable that extends from the headband into the earcup. The earcup to headband joint includes joint structure that couples the earcup to the headband and that is constructed and arranged to provide for earcup translation along a vertical axis and rotation about the vertical axis, and at least one friction element in the earcup and in contact with at least one of the joint structure and the cable. The friction element is constructed and arranged to provide forces that resist rotational motion of the earcup about the vertical axis.
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This disclosure relates to an earcup to headband joint for headphones.
Many headphones have one or two earcups that are designed to sit on or over the ears. The earcups are coupled to a headband. In some cases, the earcups can move vertically, up and down the headband, so that they can fit different heads. The earcups may also be able to pivot or rotate from side-to-side about the axis of vertical motion, again to accommodate different heads.
SUMMARYAll examples and features mentioned below can be combined in any technically possible way.
In one aspect, an earcup to headband joint for headphones, wherein the headphones comprise an electrical cable that extends from the headband into the earcup, includes a joint structure that couples the earcup to the headband and that is constructed and arranged to provide for earcup translation along a vertical axis and rotation about the vertical axis, and at least one friction element in the earcup and in contact with at least one of the joint structure and the cable, wherein the friction element is constructed and arranged to provide forces that resist rotational motion of the earcup about the vertical axis.
Embodiments may include one of the following features, or any combination thereof. The earcup to headband joint may include at least two friction elements. The electrical cable may have two opposed sides, and one friction element may be in contact with one side of the cable and another friction element may be in contact with the other side of the cable. A horizontal portion of the cable may run generally along a horizontal axis that is perpendicular to the vertical axis. One friction element may be above the horizontal portion of the cable and another friction element may be below the horizontal portion of the cable. The friction elements may each comprise a strip of pliable material. The friction elements may comprise an elastomer. The friction elements may be made from silicone rubber. The earcup may comprise a generally horizontal slot that the joint structure and cable pass through, and the strips may be alongside both sides of the slot.
Embodiments may include one of the following features, or any combination thereof. The at least one friction element may be spaced from the vertical axis. There may be at least two friction elements that each comprise pliable material. The earcup may comprise a slot that the joint structure and cable pass through, and the friction elements may be adjacent to both sides of the slot. The cable may pass through the joint structure. The friction element may be in contact with the joint structure at a location where the cable passes through the joint structure. The joint structure at the location where the cable passes through the joint structure may comprise a tube in which the cable is located.
In another aspect, an earcup to headband joint for headphones, wherein the headphones comprise an electrical cable that extends from the headband into the earcup, includes a joint structure that couples the earcup to the headband and that is constructed and arranged to provide for earcup translation along a vertical axis and rotation about the vertical axis, wherein the earcup comprises a slot that the joint structure and cable pass through, and at least two friction elements in the earcup, one alongside each side of the slot and in contact with at least one of the joint structure and the cable, wherein the friction elements are constructed and arranged to provide forces that resist rotational motion of the earcup about the vertical axis, wherein the friction elements comprise strips of an elastomer.
Embodiments may include one of the above and/or below features, or any combination thereof. The friction elements may be spaced from the vertical axis. The friction elements may overlap both sides of the slot. The electrical cable may have two opposed sides, and one friction element may be in contact with one side of the cable and another friction element may be in contact with the other side of the cable. The friction element may be in contact with the joint structure at a location where the cable passes through the joint structure, and the joint structure at the location where the cable passes through the joint structure may comprise a tube in which the cable is located.
A headphone refers to a device that fits around, on, or in an ear, and that radiates acoustic energy into the ear canal. Headphones are sometimes referred to as earphones, earpieces, headsets, earbuds, or sport headphones, and can be wired or wireless. A headphone includes an acoustic driver to transduce audio signals to acoustic energy. The acoustic driver may be housed in an earcup. While some of the figures and descriptions following show a single headphone, a headphone may be a single stand-alone unit or one of a pair of headphones (each including a respective acoustic driver and earcup), one for each ear. A headphone may be connected mechanically to another headphone, for example by a headband and/or by leads that conduct audio signals to an acoustic driver in the headphone. A headphone may include components for wirelessly receiving audio signals. A headphone may include components of an active noise reduction (ANR) system. Headphones may also include other functionality, such as a microphone so that they can function as a headset.
In an around or on the ear headphone, the headphone may include a headband and at least one earcup that is arranged to sit on or over an ear of the user. In order to accommodate heads of different sizes and shapes, the earcups need to be able to pivot about at least the vertical axis, and they need to translate for some distance along the vertical axis. The headband can be collapsible or foldable, and can be made of multiple parts. Some headbands include sliders, which may be positioned internal to the headband, that provide for the necessary translation of the earcups. Some headphones include a yoke pivotally mounted to the headband, with the earcups pivotally mounted to the yoke, to provide for the necessary rotation of the earcups.
Some headphones have earcups that are able to move vertically, up and down the headband, and also pivot or rotate from side-to-side about the axis of vertical motion. The user experience can be improved if the side-to side pivoting motion is damped sufficiently to maintain the earcup position on the head as the headphones are used; if there is no damping the earcups may not stay in place as the wearer's head moves.
The headphones of the present disclosure have a joint that couples the earcup(s) to the headband. The joint is structured to allow constrained, damped rotation of the earcups relative to the headband about at least the vertical axis. In some cases, the joint may also provide for rotation about a perpendicular horizontal axis. The joint is also structured to provide for constrained translation along the vertical axis. Rotation about a vertical axis can extend to 90 degrees in one rotational direction, so that the earcups can be folded flat against the headband, anywhere along their translational motion. In this example of the joint, the joint allows the headphones to be folded flat, which allows a headphone storage case to be flatter than could otherwise be achieved without the joint.
An earcup to headband joint for headphones of this disclosure can include a joint structure that couples the earcup to the headband. The joint structure provides for earcup translation along the vertical axis (up and down along the headband), and earcup rotation about the vertical axis. There are one or more friction elements in each earcup. The friction elements are in contact with at least one of the joint structure and the electrical cable that extends from the headband into the earcup. The friction elements are constructed and arranged to provide forces that resist rotational motion of the earcup about the vertical axis. In one example, the friction elements are spaced from the vertical axis. The friction elements maybe located inside the earcups.
In one non-limiting example, each earcup includes two friction elements. One friction element may be in contact with one side of the cable and the other friction element may be in contact with another side of the cable. The friction elements may each comprise a strip of pliable material. The material may be an elastomer, such as a silicone rubber.
In one non-limiting example, the earcup has a generally horizontal slot that the joint structure and cable pass through, and the friction elements (e.g., the strips) are alongside both sides of the slot. In another example, the cable passes through the joint structure and the friction elements are in contact with the joint structure at the location where the cable passes through the joint structure. The joint structure at the location where the cable passes through the joint structure may comprise a tube in which the cable is located.
Headphone 10 is shown in
Slider 50 fits into slider receptacle groove 42 on the outside of shell body 41 of earcup shell 40. Horizontal slot 44 in groove 42, which is bounded by raised ridges 45 and 46, is sized and shaped to allow pivot member 60 to be nested into shell body 41, such that end 62 fits through enlarged opening 56 of slider slot 54. Slot 54 is narrower that the diameter of (generally spherical) end 62. This construction retains end 62 in slider 50. As shown in
As shown in
The rotations of the earcup about the X axis are accommodated by arc-shaped surface 77 of pivot member 60 and the arc-shaped interior bearing surface 72 of bearing member 70. See
In the non-limiting example depicted in
In the neutral position shown in
An alternative pivot member/bearing member assembly 90 is depicted in
First end 92 includes one or more rubber strips or portions (such as strips 103, 141 and 142,
Constrained rotations about the Z axis can be accomplished in the manner illustrated in
The present headphones have earcups that are able to move vertically, up and down the headband, and also pivot or rotate from side-to-side about the axis of vertical motion. The user experience is improved by damping the side-to side pivoting motion. The damping is preferably but not necessarily sufficient to maintain the earcup position on the head as the headphones are used. The headphones have a joint that couples the earcup(s) to the headband. The joint is structured to allow constrained, damped rotation of the earcups relative to the headband about the vertical axis.
As best shown in
Preferably, but not necessarily, the material and thickness and arrangement of the friction elements, together with the size (diameter) and jacket material of the cable, are selected to achieve a desired damping. The damping can be specified by an amount of torque created by these forces together with their offset from rotational axis X. The desired torque can be created using other arrangements of the elements of the earcup to headband joint structure, and/or the friction element or friction elements that provide forces that resist rotation about the X axis.
One example of such an alternative arrangement is shown in
A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that additional modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the inventive concepts described herein, and, accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.
Claims
1. An earcup to headband joint for headphones, wherein the headphones comprise an electrical cable that extends from the headband into the earcup, and wherein the earcup comprises a slot, the earcup to headband joint comprising: a joint structure that couples the earcup to the headband and that is constructed and arranged to provide for earcup translation along a vertical axis and rotation about the vertical axis, wherein the electrical cable extends through the slot from the headband into the earcup either directly or through a joint structure tube; and at least one friction element in the earcup and in contact with at least one of the joint structure and the cable, wherein the friction element is constructed and arranged to provide forces that resist rotational motion of the earcup about the vertical axis.
2. The earcup to headband joint of claim 1, comprising two friction elements.
3. The earcup to headband joint of claim 2, wherein the electrical cable has two opposed sides, and one friction element is in contact with one side of the cable and the other friction element is in contact with the other side of the cable.
4. The earcup to headband joint of claim 3, wherein a horizontal portion of the cable runs generally along a horizontal axis that is perpendicular to the vertical axis, and wherein one friction element is above the horizontal portion of the cable and the other friction element is below the horizontal portion of the cable.
5. The earcup to headband joint of claim 2, wherein the friction elements each comprise a strip of pliable material.
6. The earcup to headband joint of claim 5, wherein the friction elements each comprise an elastomer.
7. The earcup to headband joint of claim 6, wherein the friction elements are made from silicone rubber.
8. The earcup to headband joint of claim 5, wherein the slot is generally horizontal and comprises two opposed sides, and wherein the strips are alongside both opposed sides of the slot.
9. The earcup to headband joint of claim 8, wherein the friction elements are made from silicone rubber.
10. The earcup to headband joint of claim 1, wherein the at least one friction element is spaced from the vertical axis.
11. The earcup to headband joint of claim 10, comprising two friction elements that each comprise pliable material.
12. The earcup to headband joint of claim 11, wherein the slot comprises two opposed sides, and wherein the friction elements are adjacent to both opposed sides of the slot.
13. The earcup to headband joint of claim 1, wherein the cable passes through the joint structure tube.
14. The earcup to headband joint of claim 13, wherein the friction element is in contact with the joint structure tube at a location where the cable passes through the joint structure tube.
15. An earcup to headband joint for headphones, wherein the headphones comprise an electrical cable that extends from the headband into the earcup, the earcup to headband joint comprising:
- a joint structure that couples the earcup to the headband and that is constructed and arranged to provide for earcup translation along a vertical axis and rotation about the vertical axis, wherein the earcup comprises a generally horizontal slot that the joint structure and cable pass through; and
- at least two friction elements in the earcup, one alongside each side of the slot and in contact with at least one of the joint structure and the cable, wherein the friction elements are constructed and arranged to provide forces that resist rotational motion of the earcup about the vertical axis, wherein the friction elements comprise strips of an elastomer.
16. The earcup to headband joint of claim 15, wherein the friction elements are spaced from the vertical axis.
17. The earcup to headband joint of claim 16, wherein the friction elements overlap both sides of the slot.
18. The earcup to headband joint of claim 17, wherein the electrical cable has two opposed sides, and one friction element is in contact with one side of the cable and the other friction element is in contact with the other side of the cable.
19. The earcup to headband joint of claim 17, wherein the friction element is in contact with the joint structure at a location where the cable passes through the joint structure, and wherein the joint structure at the location where the cable passes through the joint structure comprises a tube in which the cable is located.
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Type: Grant
Filed: Sep 30, 2017
Date of Patent: Jun 25, 2019
Patent Publication Number: 20190104356
Assignee: Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA)
Inventors: Bennett Daley (Waltham, MA), Benjamin Eisenberg Zelnick (Somerville, MA)
Primary Examiner: Curtis A Kuntz
Assistant Examiner: Julie X Dang
Application Number: 15/721,834